Nishihara, Okinawa


Nishihara is a town located in Nakagami District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. In the Okinawan language, nishi means "north", as Nishihara was north of the historical Ryukyuan capital of Shuri.
As of October 2016, the town had an estimated population of 34,463 and a density of 2,200 persons per km2. The total area is.
Situated northeast of the city hall of Naha, Nishihara is surrounded by the cities, towns, and villages of Naha, Urasoe, Ginowan, Haebaru, Yonabaru, and Nakagusuku.
Because both the University of the Ryukyus and the Okinawa Christian Junior College are located in Nishihara, and the Okinawa International University is located nearby, Nishihara's municipal slogan is "Education Town".
WWW town.nishihara.okinawa.jp𝕏 nishihara_town

Geography

The north, west, and south of Nishihara are hilly; these areas give way to the low-lying coast in the east of the town.
The highest point in Nishihara is Untamamo. The low-lying peak, also known as Untamamui in the Okinawan language, sits to the south of the town on the border of Nishihara and the neighboring town of Urasoe. Due to its pyramidal shape, the peak is sometimes known as the "Nishihara Fuji" for its resemblance to Mount Fuji. Untamamo has utaki, or places sacred to the Okinawan religion, on both the north and south sides of the peak. Untamamo was the site of fierce fighting during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II; the spontaneous combustion of unexploded ordnance caused numerous mountain fires in the post-war period.

Administrative divisions

The town includes twenty-two wards.
  • Agarisaki
  • Amuro
  • Gaja
  • Goya
  • Ikeda
  • Kadekaru
  • Kakeboku
  • Kaneku
  • Kobashigawa
  • Kōchi
  • Kohatsu
  • Morikawa
  • Onaga
  • Onaha
  • Senbaru
  • Tanabaru
  • Tōbaru
  • Tokusada
  • Tsuhanaha
  • Uchima
  • Uehara
  • Yonagusuku

Neighboring municipalities

History

Nishihara was part of the Nishibaru magiri, one of the magiri, or administrative units created prior to the establishment of the Ryukyu Kingdom. The magiri was administered from the former village of Kōchi; in a later period the administrative center was located in the former village of Unaga.
Nishihara flourished as a center of sugar manufacturing at the beginning of the 20th century. The Japanese government promoted the construction of sugar refineries in the village. In 1944 the Imperial Japanese Army built a military airstrip in the Onaha district of Nishihara; the area was bombed by the United States on October 10 of the same year, causing extensive damage to Onaha. It was near the village of Nishihara that the U.S. 1st Marine Division reached its initial invasion objective on April 4, 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa. The entirety of Nishihara was destroyed as a front line in the battle, and its residents fled to the north and south of Okinawa Island. However, 47% of the population of Nishihara was ultimately killed during World War II.
The Gaja district of Nishihara was the center of initial post-war reconstruction. Rice was planted immediately after the war, but this was soon replaced by the sugarcane cultivation of the prewar period. Nishihara saw the development of business enterprises and residential land development in the mid-1960s; by 1979 the population of Nishihara had increased to the point that the village was elevated to town status. The urbanization of the town continues due to the presence of university facilities and residential developments.

Cultural and natural assets

Nishihara Town hosts forty-six cultural properties and monuments, most of which appear on municipal listings but are not officially designated or registered at the national, prefectural or municipal level.
  • Name

Cultural Properties">Cultural Property (Japan)">Cultural Properties

  • Certification from Tanabaru Village in Nishihara Magiri addressed to Ida Pēchin
  • Chichinta Gusuku
  • Funjurū letters incinerator of Onaga
  • Gaja Site
  • Higa Family's Tūtīkū Praying Site in Tanabaru
  • Ikkan-gā well
  • Ishi Gusuku
  • Jīma-nu-ukā sacred well
  • Kamuiyaki pot from Uchima No.1 Artefact Scatter
  • Kayabuchi Udun Praying Site
  • Kōchi Aji's Tomb
  • Kōchi Gusuku
  • Kōchi's Kukuji-mui forest
  • Kohatsu's Ii-nu-yama Sacred Site
  • Kohatsu's Shicha-nu-taki Sacred Site
  • Kunkunshi musical score by Yakabi Chōki
  • Nakō-mō Praying Site
  • Nishihara Nakayama Family Documents
  • Nishihara's War Memorial
  • Nsuhajii reef
  • Onaga Hījā-gā Spring
  • Sēguchijō Sacred Site
  • Stele of the Former King's Old Residence
  • Stone lion of Goya
  • Stone lions of Tōbaru
  • Stone stele with 致和 inscription
  • Sukemasu Ōshiro's Memorial
  • Survey Stones
  • Tanabaru Gusuku
  • Tanabaru Noro Dunchi
  • Tanabaru Shell Mound
  • Teranokoshi Noro-gā spring
  • Tirasa-gā spring
  • Tōfugwā-bira Hill
  • Uē-gā spring
  • Ufunmi Utaki Sacred Site
  • Untamamui
  • Urasoe Family's copy of Ise Monogatari
  • Yonagusuku Shell Mound
  • Yubushi-gā Well

Historic Sites">Monuments of Japan"> Historic Sites

  • Former Miyazato Residence in Tanabaru
  • Former Nishihara Village Office air-raid shelter
  • Stone wall with bullet marks in Kohatsu
  • Tanabaru Paved Road
  • Uchima Udun

Natural Monuments">Monuments of Japan">Natural Monuments

Education

Municipal schools:
  • Nishihara Elementary School
  • Nishihara Higashi Elementary School
  • Nishihara Higashi Junior High School
  • Nishihara Junior High School
  • Nishihara Minami Elementary School
  • Sakata Elementary School
There is also a nationally-controlled elementary school, Elementary School Attached to the College of Education, University of the Ryukyus.

Notable people from Nishihara